Relax, Senators fans, it was only the first preseason games of the season. You don't need to leap off the bandwagon just yet.
Let the Leafs fans start planning their June parade down Yonge Street and marveling about how great Mike Babcock is that he can coach a team to victory from 388 km away.
Yes, losing both ends of a home and home split squad game on one night to a team that is expected to contend for Austin Matthews is a less than desirable outcome, but you have to look at the positives.
Shane Prince, Bobby Ryan and Erik Karlsson scored in Ottawa and Mike Hoffman netted the lone marker in Toronto for the Senators in the pair of losses.
I, like most of you, saw much more of the Ottawa based game than I did the Toronto one, so my focus will be on that, but Andrew Hammond seemed to play a decent half game, judging by the highlights shown during intermissions where the studio focused on Toronto scoring chances. In fact, all four goalies allowed 2 goals on a night where Toronto beat Ottawa 4-1 at the ACC and edged the Sens 4-3 in OT at CTC.
Here are 6 things that really caught my eye, other than the obvious, Erik Karlsson's seemingly mid-season form 3 point performance.:
1. Thomas Chabot - The Senators first pick in this past June's draft is going to be a stud. He is pretty lanky but will grow into his size and he is a skilled puck mover who didn't look nervous even playing with Erik Karlsson. He scored 2 assists in his first pro action and looked good on the power play.
2. Shane Prince - I didn't see much of Puempel, who played in Toronoto, but Prince showed very well in my eyes as the pair likely battle for the 12th forward position. Prince could be a solid all around player who is faster and has much better hands than Erik Condra. He is a guy who can play anywhere you ask him to in your lineup and be versatile.
3. Eric O'Dell - Maybe it was the flowing locks that made him stand out, but O'Dell seemed to make an impact of some sort on just about every shift. He impressed me with his speed and his ability to play the body. He created havoc in front of the net on the power play, and although he didn't do much with the puck, he did the little things to help his teammates at a high rate of speed and he will be a nice depth addition down the middle if needed at any point during the season.
4. Matt O'Connor - He showed why he was so highly touted, and played a very solid game in relieving Craig Anderson. He stopped 15 of 17 shots and made some pretty tough saves in his pro debut.
5. Tobias Lindberg - Playing in Mark Stone's spot on the Kyle Turris line, he showed flashes of the skill that makes him one of Ottawa's best prospects. He still has some seasoning to do, and that line as a whole didn't do too much to write home about on the night, but here and there showed some good things.
6. Max McCormick - The gritty forward carried over his rookie camp success and was in the middle of everything, creating havoc and just plain being a pain in the ass to the Leafs for most of the night. Exactly what you want from a 4th liner who knows his role.
Now the downside, and because of grief I have taken for giving Jared Cowen the benefit of the doubt over the last year, I watched him closely on just about every shift he played, and he certainly didn't reward my faith with his play. He played ok without the puck, but was nothing special, and he handled the puck like it was a hand grenade for a lot of the night. He is going to need better efforts when he gets into preseason games if he wants to be in the opening night lineup.
The Senators showed what not to do in 3-on-3 overtime, and that is go for a change when the puck is heading towards your end. There were a few OT games last night, some planned and some required, and it will certainly be exciting. With so much open ice and skill out there, you can't blink for a moment or you will miss something.
The Senators get back to action Wednesday night in Buffalo, where a lot of players will be making their pre-season debuts. Expect some cuts today as the club attempts to get to a more manageable roster. They will start to focus on skating with a main group that includes 5 forward lines and 8 defensemen that include the sure things as well as the legitimate contenders in the battle for the couple of open spots on the opening day roster.